Gloucester: Roots Coffee to shut after challenging year

A popular community cafe in a deprived area of Gloucester will shut after an "unprecedented year of challenges".

Roots Coffee and Community in Kingsholm will close permanently in February, it was announced on 2 January.

As well as hosting the cafe, the venue runs community events and provides a refill service for food and household items such as seeds and washing powder.

Roots development manager Daniel Smith said everything had been done to try to keep the venue open.

Mr Smith added staff at the cafe are "praying for and seeking out some kind of a miracle".

Issues within the hospitality industry and illnesses within its senior team were "enormous" challenges for it last year, he said.

Mr Smith said: "We have had to make this very difficult decision after a really unprecedented year of challenges in 2023.

"The landscape of running a small business and a social enterprise is unbelievably challenging at the moment, I am sure people will appreciate that.

"What we have unfortunately been rocked with is some really serious staff illnesses and bereavement in our senior team last year. Losing that section of your staff team is incredibly difficult to continue under those circumstances.

"So we have done everything we can to try and roll with those punches and try and keep open.

"We have been so grateful to our community for how they have come out and supported us over the last six months because they have obviously known we have been going through a really tricky time.

"But as a board, we just acknowledge that this is our last moment, our last opportunity, to close well."

Abbey, a customer-turned-staff member, said: "We were all devastated - all the staff - when we found out. It was really, really heartbreaking because we found such a lovely team."

Customers told the BBC they are sad to see Roots closing.

Chris Metcalfe, from Gloucester, said: "I am very upset, gutted. I come here on a regular basis. It is upsetting.

"It is a big loss to the community because a lot of people who are coming here are homeless."

He said "generous" customers often left donations which are used to pay for others who cannot afford to have a hot drink or something to eat.

Ian Humble, from Highnam, said: "We made it part of our regular Saturday morning schedule.

"It is something to look forward to on a Saturday morning - we used to do parkrun and come to the cafe and the refill shop as well."

Roots will close on 10 February. It is based on the same road as Gloucester's only tower block, which is set to be demolished to make way for a new housing estate.

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